Metro Pulse/Music/Eye on the Scene

Not-Usually-Mean Streets

I've been walking around downtown Knoxville and Fort Sanders at various hours of the day and night for five years. The worst that's ever happened to me is when a drunk college kid called me a faggot and lobbed a full beer can over my head into the street while I walked along Clinch Avenue at about 3 a.m.

Like a lot of people, I was upset to hear about the brutal assault on Jonathan Rule on Jackson Avenue March 6, and I started to worry a little more about my own safety.

Statistically, violence doesn't happen in downtown Knoxville any more than anywhere else in the city, but when it happens here it tends to make news. There have also been people mugged, raped and killed in my neighborhood, Fort Sanders, each drawing a lot of attention.

Since Rule was attacked, I've had a lot of people tell me not to walk at night or urge me to be extra careful when I do. I can understand their concern. I've been worrying about my friends as well, even the ones who drive everywhere. But I don't think I'd be any safer driving, and I don't want to stay home.

You could play the numbers game: In 2001, for every 1,000 people 12 years or older, two people were assaulted, one raped and three robbed (with men being more likely to be attacked by strangers, women by people they know), according to the Department of Justice Statistics. Six out of every 100,000 people were murdered that year. Homicide ranks well below heart disease, cancer, accidents, suicide, diabetes, cirrhosis and the flu as a cause of death, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

But, people tend to be more afraid of things they can't control—violent idiots, smallpox, terrorists—than of things they can, like their drinking, driving, smoking, sexual, and eating habits, the latter of which kill us in far greater numbers.

I keep walking most of the time, not because I'm trying to tempt fate but because I know that it's a haphazard world. Whether you're driving a car, riding a bike or walking, we can never know what's waiting around the corner from us, whether it's a drunk driver, some asshole thugs, or the next love of your life. And, I keep walking because Knoxville is pretty dang safe.

The best antidote to random violence isn't more police protection or aggressive prosecutors (although, those sometimes have their place) but something a bit more amorphous—community. When people know each other, either by face or name, they tend to look out for one another. The more people are connected, the harder it is to ignore each other.

Community is central Knoxville's greatest strength—it's what's spurred downtown redevelopment, what makes downtown interesting, what's kept me here. The more inclusive we make our community—by genuinely including and acknowledging minorities, gays and lesbians, Bible pounders, the poor, the homeless, drug addicts, the police, and even the people who hate—the better off we all are.

It might not sound like a lot, but going out—walking around, going to shows, taking part in the life of your city, talking to strangers—will make your community a little bit safer. Rule saved a man from a similar beating not long before he was himself attacked. And a downtown resident saved Rule.

For evidence of what kind of community Knoxville is, you just have to look at the astounding benefit put together for Thursday, May 8—the 1st Annual Knoxville at Night Benefit. Eight bars and coffeeshops are participating, some of them donating advertising. More than 20 bands are playing for free, including out-of-town groups the Natti Love Joys and the Immortal Lee County Killers (benefit organizers are paying their travel expenses). Other bands playing include Dixie Dirt, Red House Project, Uptown Bogarts, Superfly Soundtrip, Casey Jones and Jodie Manross, Limit 9, Mile 8, Willis, Leslie Woods, 2 Deep, Cadre, Mike Thomas, dreamtime, Mitch Rutman Group, Synchronicity, Nattie Keene Sessions, Old-Time String Band, Emily Steele & Heather Pogue Duncan, the Pink Sexies and Slick. Circle Modern Dance will perform in the Blue Cats courtyard at 8 p.m.; the music starts at 9 p.m. (For details on who is playing where check out the ad in the print edition or look to next week's Metro Pulse.)

Patrons will pay $5 at any of the clubs—Barley's Taproom, Blue Cats, Preservation Pub, Hannah's in the Old City, New City Café, Java Old City, Cup-a-Joe, and Pilot Light—and get a bracelet that will get them into all of the clubs. Proceeds for the event go to help pay for Jonathan Rule's medical expenses.

"We want to promote community more than anything else. We want to promote a positive attitude in the Knoxville community," says organizer Evan Barbee. "Anytime there's a violent act, it's done out of disrespect for a fellow human being. We want to promote appreciation for each other. I don't want to sound like too much of a hippie...."

The event started out small, but Barbee was overwhelmed by the response. "Everybody in the Old City was just ecstatic about it. I'm completely overwhelmed," Barbee says. "We had to turn a dozen bands down because we ran out of room."

The organizers hope to make it an annual benefit, with the future year's proceeds benefiting a charity. "We're going to see how this one goes, but Knoxville needs a music festival," says Matt Urmy, another organizer. "The Old City is a cool place to do it. The Old City really is the entertainment district of Knoxville.... Nothing like that's ever been done in Knoxville."

—Madame "so be easy and free when you're drinking with me" Georgie with Joe Tarr